Dr. J. Helin is studying the enzyme-assisted synthesis of oligo- and poly-N-acetyl-lactosaminoglycans (NALG) and their adhesion properties and signalling functions. These ongoing investigations in the laboratory of Dr. Ossi Renkonen have been concerned with the complex structures that occur as covalent linkages with proteins and lipids and are found on mammalian cell surfaces and in extracellular matrices, known as kertan sulphates. Dr. Renkonen has synthesized and characterized a large number of NALGs including linear and branched structures ranging from 2- to 24-mers and containing up to 36 monosaccharide units and decorations of a number of backbones with fucose, N-acetylneuraminic acid, and galactose residues has been achieved.